Industrial uniform

I recently attended a technical fayre and mini exhibition. As i walked around it was obvious who the business people were -they were the ones wearing suits. Technical types (such as me) and academics  rarely wear suits. So why do so many others ? The suit is a business uniform. The abence of a suit is also a kind of uniform. It is a kind of statement that says 'I'm more interested in the science than the business'  and that actually is the case. There is nothing wrong with that. You need people who are focussed on the science just as much as you need people who are focussed on the business, in order to provide a proper balance. But the odd thing is this; the suit is a visible credential , its almost as if in business you wouldn't trust someone who wasn't wearing a suit. And yet I distrust people more if they are wearing a suit.
Recently in hospital whilst looking after my injured child, I visited a cafe to get a drink. In the cafe was a person wearing a pinstripe suit and waistcoat. It was obvious they were in the hospital to sell stuff. It felt really inappropriate that someone was there is full view with the purpose of making a profit whilst the rest of us were only concerned about our sick children. I know that is irrational because everything that is used in the hospital results in profit for someone, and there is so much waste that selling to hospitals must be very profitable. But it just seemed a bit too in your face. Do business people feel they have a better chance of a sale if they are in a suit? Do they think that it is being disrespectful to the purchaser if they dont wear a suit? Do they think the customer wont buy from them without the suit?
In my company none of the technical people wear suits. Most of the commercial people do however. Even those that rarely leave the office or meet people outside of the company. Perhaps they are trying to instill into their colleagues the impression that they are  a professional, perhaps they are trying to instill into themselves the very same opinion. 
I think that in the technical community at least there is the opinion that the way I look does not affect the way I think. Obviously I have a lot of sympathy with point of view, but I also think that if the way you dress makes you feel more confident it will show through in what you do and how you interact. Equally so if wearing a suit makes you feel uncomfortable.

Applied science

One of the new perspectives that arises from a child being in hospital is one of the application of science. Actual application is another planet to many people who just want to pursue some science. To me application is what its all about. But when I look at the usefulness of what I actually do witnessing the science in action is inspirational. I saw an echo cardiogram machine which was one of the most amazing bits of scientific technology I have ever seen. I understood what I was seeing, the slice through the heart seen by the fan of ultrasound reflecting of various tissue type. A view from under the ribs, from the middle of the chest, from the side . Video at 70 frames per second of the heart valves pumping. Doppler measurements of the 2MHz ultrasound beam showing the direction of blood flow, measurements of the size of arteries. All this because my son had a low resting heart rate and the doctors wanted just to have a look and see what was there. He was fine by the way, at least his heart was. It made me realise that there is so much genuine advantage that can be wrought from the well directed use of science. I can achieve so much more than I currently do tinkering and toying with small amounts of defence funding. I must achieve more.